Saving Nourasia
by Ezaria
Summary: ***DISCONTINUED*** Seven years after the Great Race of Oban, Aikka's homeworld, Nourasia, faces extinction. It is a race against time to save the planet and its people. Will Eva and her friends make it in time? And, what are the Crogs up to this time?
1. Chapter 1

**7 years after the Great Race of Oban**

It was glowing, flickering in the pitch black darkness. A fuzzy yellow light that took the form of something near humanoid was hovering in a corner of the room. Eva tossed and turned in her bed; the mysterious light was in her closed eyes... Her eyes show wide open, alerted by the strange presence she felt watching over her from a corner of her small bedroom. It felt familiar, like someone she had met in the past. She did not feel terrified; instead she felt something calm and soothing. Sitting upright on her bed, her eyes quickly focused on the intruder. It was a large body of contained light with a young face and the markings of... Eva's jaw dropped, the last traces of sleepiness now gone. It was the Avatar. Jordan.

"Jordan," she asked tentatively, her feet finding their way to the warm, carpeted floor, inching closer to him, "Is it you?"

The Avatar nodded briefly, a slight smile creeping across his hardened features, softening them somewhat.

"Jordan! I missed you so much," she felt tears well up in her eyes as she made her way across the room; arms outstretched longing to hold him. It has been seven years... Her fingers wrapped around his 'arms'. They feel strangely cold to the touch. It did not bother her. This is Jordan. She had not seen him in so long. She realised that missed him more than she thought she would. "Jordan..." Tears streamed down her cheeks, glistening in the Avatar's light. Jordan looked down at Eva's youthful features, a sad smile on his face. Their eyes met, gazing longingly into each other. Memories flooded into their minds, precious memories thought to be forgotten.

"Molly," his voice fell to a whisper, "I bring you an important message... From Aikka."

"Aikka..." Memories flashed before her, the Great Race of Oban, the friendship she and Aikka had forged, his charismatic features. It felt so long ago. It was long ago. Seven years had gone by.

Jordan cleared his throat before speaking again, his voice void of emotions.

"Aikka's homeworld, Nourasia, is dying," he saw Eva's eyes widen in shock, "When the Crog's decided to retreat after I became the Avatar, they released a poisonous substance into Nourasia's atmosphere from their fleeing starships. The poison when about undetected for a few years, however, as time passed, the people's life expectancy was shortened. People began to die. There is nothing we can do now. The Crogs have openly declared that they will take back the planet in two weeks," Jordan sighed heavily, "I failed my duty as an Avatar. I wasn't able to stop this. I couldn't protect Nourasia–"

"You didn't fail. No one is perfect," Eva cut him short. Leaning in close, she whispered firmly, "I will help him; I will save Aikka and his people. I will save Nourasia."

She was not sure why she said that. She only knew that she would do anything within her power to save him. Friends never abandon one another, and I will not abandon Aikka when he is in need of help. This is the least I can do, as a friend.

"Molly, listen," Jordan looked at her deep into her eyes, trying to convince her that it would not work, "I had actually come to pass you a farewell message from Aikka."

Farewell message?

"No! It's not over, it's not goodbye!" Eva's words were hurried, desperately trying to persuade Jordan that it was possible, that Nourasia could be saved. "Do you want Aikka to die?"

Eva looked into Jordan's eyes, her gaze unwavering. Her stubbornness was still evident, even after so long. Jordan tensed up and then relaxed.

"There's nothing I can do to stop you, huh. Stubborn little one," he laughed lightly, "You're still the Molly I always knew." His words trailed off and his expression became solemn once more. The situation was no laughing matter.

The seconds ticked by before he spoke again, fixing her with an unflinching stare. Eva returned his stare with an equally serious, silently confident one of her own.

"I will send a ship for you at dawn. Rendezvous at the largest clearing in the park."

_**To be continued...**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Hey y'all. I forgot to say in my first chapter that this is my very first fanfic, and I hope it's good. Please send me some reviews; show me that there are people reading this, yea? :D_**

**_Disclaimer thingy: OSR isn't mine. I'm just a fan with a fanfic._**

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><p>Eva sat on the edge of her bed for what seemed like hours, deep in thought, occasionally glancing at the maroon coloured alarm clock on her side table. Her fingers unconsciously brushed against her cheek. Just like how they parted back on Oban, Jordan gave her a goodbye kiss.<p>

3:34 AM. The Avatar's transport would be arriving in about 3 hours. She could not go back to bed now. There was too much to do. She had not packed her luggage yet.

Why was she still sitting around, wasting time? She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her slender arms around them, her head resting on her knees. Her mind was in confusion. Part of her wondered if what she was attempting to do was right, another part made her feel like it was a futile attempt. She had seen the news about Nourasia every morning during breakfast with her dad, Don Wei. It looked almost hopeless. The reporters did not dare enter Nourasia, no one did. Was she starting to doubt herself? What happened to the confidence she showed Jordan?

She knew that if she told her dad that she was leaving to visit a friend, he would understand... But not a friend on Nourasia! He would throw a fit, that's for sure. Don Wei hated surprises. He disliked sudden changes. It seems that she would have to leave home before he woke up.

Sighing softly to herself, Eva pondered, "Is what I'm doing right? Can Nourasia really be saved?"

The Great Race of Oban, replayed in her mind. Memories of Aikka and Jordan thought to have been forgotten after such a long time. She and Aikka's friendship. His promise to show her his kingdom, his home... How was he suppose to keep his promise if there is going to be nothing left of his homeworld?

She got up, her feet landing softly on the carpeted floor, and stretched, arms reaching for the ceiling. Gathered her red and black hair in a small ponytail, she let a few strands of hair that were too short, hang freely at the sides. She kept it only a few inches longer than it had been during the races on Alwas and Oban. Grinning to herself, she crossed her room to grab her suitcase stashed underneath the wardrobe.

5:03 AM. Eva grabbed the alarm clock from the table and fitted it snugly in between her already full suitcase of clothes and daily necessities. She shoved her elbow down onto the cover, one hand struggling to zip up her stuffed suitcase.

"Gosh I shouldn't have packed so much stuff in this!" she mumbled to herself in between clenched teeth.

One last tug of the zipper, and it was done. Eva held it up in the air in pride, feeling its weight after a second she lowered her arm, settling it gently on the floor once more. Her suitcase had lumps and bumps all over, forced into shape around her bundle of clothes and belongings.

She scribbled a note to her father in her messy handwriting, dumping the pen in the direction of where she thought her stationary holder was. One hand yanking the heavy luggage, the other holding the note, she passed by the dining table, sticking the note onto her dad's chair at the head of the marble dining table with rounded corners.

"Goodbye, dad," she whispered, stepping outside into the cold morning air, "I will be back, I promise."

She pushed the front door close, hearing it latch onto the lock with a soft click.

"Don't miss me too much," she added, chuckling.

The sound of footsteps and a suitcase lugged across the freshly mowed lawn was last heard. The morning continued quietly with a few chirps from the birds in the trees and the sound of cars driving pass as though nothing had took place in Don Wei's mansion. Don Wei was still fast asleep, snoring loudly in his room, unaware that his daughter had left for the one place he never thought she would have gone to: Nourasia.

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><p>"Stan, are you sure we are allowed to land in the park?"<p>

"C'mon, Koji," Stan shook his head slightly, an amused look on his face, "If the Avatar said we can, of course we can! It's not like our ship is gonna be sitting there for hours."

A small starship, probably about 10 metres in length and 5 metres across, soared through the atmosphere, adjusting its course to touch down in the largest section of the park. The sides had simple Earth markings and the entire ship was painted silver, reflecting the early morning rays of sunlight. It was mostly symmetrical with four engines spread out horizontally at its rear. A slightly protruding curved cockpit canopy at its top indicated its cockpit. From the pilot seat in the cockpit, Koji spotted a young lady with a slender built waiting with her luggage.

The starship hovered a few feet over the ground in front of the lady, blowing her red and black, shoulder length hair across her face. Looking closer, Koji could see that the young lady wore a black half-top that exposed her thin waist, and khaki cargo pants. Her face had a star tattoo on one cheek, a broad vertical line downwards on the other. It was not too long ago when she last saw Molly. Don Wei frequently visited Koji and Stan to fix his star racers. Sometimes Molly would tag along; however, they never spoke of the Race. They chose not to, knowing that Jordan and she shared a special bond, thinking that it would bring back sad memories for her.

Koji flicked a switch, lowering the ramp. Heavy footsteps were heard as someone clambered up; another sound of something heavy being dumped in the cargo hold was heard.

"Koji, Stan! Hey there," a female voice called out, getting louder.

They turned around to see Molly with her red eyes and racing goggles on her hair, a grin spread across her face. She walked forward carefully, slowly adjusting to the constant vibrations of the ship's engines and reduced gravity, plopping herself into one of the two unoccupied seats behind the pilot and co-pilot seats in the cramped cockpit.

"Let's fly," she leaned forward, grasping the handle bars on the back of Stan's seat.

"Hold one, we still gotta wait for our ride," Stan replied.

"Our ride? Isn't this our ride to Nourasia?"

"Nourasia is close to a million light years away from Earth. With this ship and Earth technology, we'll probably take about a week to get there."

Two weeks, we've only got two weeks... Eva recalled Jordan's words.

"We can't spend a whole week here! It'll be too late."

Stan turned around fully to face her, "And that's why, we're riding in the Avatar's transport. He'll drop us off once we enter Nourasia's air space and this starship will help us make it across Nourasia's contaminated air unharmed 'till we find Aikka and the remaining survivors."

Behind Stan, the cockpit glowed, the starship's silver painted surface reflecting the bright light shining unto them. Molly forgot her response, her gaze fixed on the surreal light from the outside. She heard someone, probably Koji, gasp in awe.

The Avatar's oval shaped spacecraft had arrived.

Their starship rocked about violently as it rose from the Earth, pulled toward the source of the bright glow, knocking out everyone in it, just like it had back when it took them to Oban. In a matter of seconds, their ship was settled inside the immense space of the Avatar's transport, travelling close to the speed of light to their destination.

_**To be continued...**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3 and 4 are linked b'cuz I divided this chapter into two. This chapter is Part 1 of their journey to Nourasia. I promise it will get exciting.**_

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><p>The ship tilted to starboard abruptly, throwing Eva out of her seat. The ship struggled to readjust its artificial gravity, however a sudden blast of light washed over the cockpit as an explosion was heard coming from behind. The ship swerved further off course; Koji gripped onto the controls with white knuckles, beads of perspiration forming on his forehead.<p>

Stan was yelling something inaudible to Koji. Eva crawled back to her seat, gripping onto its armrest for dear life. She felt too weak to heave herself back into her seat. Her body was aching with pain, having been thrown around the ship like a rag doll.

Another blast rocked the ship. Sparks flew from Koji's console, igniting a small flame. The fire alarm system built into the ship immediately activated, spraying the entire cockpit with foam. Most of the foam was aimed at the burning flight control board, extinguishing it in seconds. Sitting upright, his expression unreadable probably due to the sudden turn of events, Koji trembled slightly in fear. Stan was in panic mode, looking around frantically for a solution. Facing unimaginable odds, with dozens of Crog warships surrounding the planet, this was bound to happen.

Only one person could do it. Only Eva could fly a ship against such odds. After all she raced countless races filled with peril during the Great Race of Oban. With sudden determination, Eva yanked herself up using the seat's armrest. She gripped onto the handle bar on Stan's seat tightly, pulling herself towards the front of the cockpit.

Resting one hand on the slightly charred control board, she scanned it quickly, familiarising herself with the switches and buttons. Koji moved out of the way for her, taking a seat in the seat behind, almost as though he could read her thoughts. His hands were trembling, fear written all over his face. Eva did not notice as she slid into the pilot's seat; there were more important things to be done. They had to get through the Crog blockade around Nourasia.

"Let's fly this thing," she muttered, wrapping her fingers around the steering gear, "Let's blow up some Crogs!"

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><p><span>4 hours earlier...<span>

"Uuurgh," Eva moans softly, "Turn off the lights, dad."

A piercing white glow which started out as a thin crack of light began to illuminate the space around her rapidly, getting brighter every second as the ground beneath shook. Something fell onto the ground with a loud thud.

Eva's head began to hurt after being jolted around. Her eyes fluttered open, only to shut them again against the sudden bright light. She pushed herself up to a standing position, falling a split second after as the ground shook, almost as though it would fall out from underneath her feet. Slowly regaining consciousness, she blinked rapidly several times, trying to figure out where she was.

She found Koji, slouched against a control board with flickering lights and buttons; Stan was on the floor huddled behind a large seat. Stan was waking up too. He tried to get into a comfortable sitting position, scratching the back of his head, his words slurred. Her vision adjusting to the incandescent glow, Eva crawled over to Stan and helped him into the seat.

Looking around she realised where she was. Oh, right. We're on Koji's starship inside the Avatar's transport. She rolled her eyes, chiding herself for not knowing their surroundings sooner.

"Where are we?" Koji stirred in his seat, his back hurting after leaning over on the flight equipment in a hunchback position for hours, "Molly? Huh?" He sat up carefully as the Avatar's ship jerked again, their small starship slid a few feet off to the left. A second violent shake of the ship caused their starship to skid further away, tilting the Avatar's transport with its unevenly distributed weight. Koji's eyes widened in alarm, hands flying around the steering gear, wrestling for control over the ship as it leaned precariously on its portside.

"Wait a minute, we have weight, Koji," Eva spoke up as the thought crossed her mind, "We aren't in space anymore!"

As soon as she said that, the floor beneath them opened up, dividing into three pieces which swung downward, dropping their ship into the atmosphere. Eva shrieked in surprise as she watched the ground coming up rapidly from the cockpit canopy.

Koji tugged hard at the steering gear, yanking the ship's nose up. It began to glide through the air, pulling itself out of its steep descent only about ten metres away from crashing into the terrain below.

"Damn, that was very close," Stan commented.

"Humph, you didn't help at all," Koji retorted, his words sounding harsh to his friend's ears.

Before Stan could speak, Eva interrupted quickly to stop her friends from arguing.

"C'mon guys, we're safe now, aren't we?"

Stan turned away, refusing to communicate with Koji. Koji did likewise. As Stan stared distantly out of the side viewport, his attention was drawn to the magnificent landscape. It was nothing like on Earth's. His jaw dropped in awe.

"Koji, look," he pointed at a gigantic mountain in the distance, "The view is breathtaking!" Eva peeps over Stan's shoulder, following his gaze as Koji angled the ship in the direction of the mountains for a better view.

"Yeah, it is," Koji replied, furrowing his brow slightly, "But this isn't Nourasia, is it? Nourasia is supposed to look like a barren wasteland."

The words Koji used to describe Nourasia strung Eva's heart. Aikka's planet never deserved any of this. She thought about his people, struggling for survival every single day. It was terrifying. She felt anger building up within her, anger at the Crogs. That merciless race of idiots! She was starting to lose her cool.

A warm hand rested heavily on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. She felt tears streaming down her face, drops of tears straining her black shirt.

"We're gonna save Aikka and his people. I know we can. It's why we're here on this ship, racing against time to bring aid to the Nourasians," Stan gave Eva a pat on the back, producing a handkerchief from his pocket, "Everything is gonna be alright in a matter of days, weeks maybe. We mustn't lose hope, yeah?" He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah..." she took the handkerchief and wiped at her wet cheeks, she muttered her thanks to Stan and stood up slowly, "I need to um, be alone for a while."

She disappeared to the back of the ship quietly, not noticing Stan elbow Koji in the ribs and the murmuring that followed.

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><p>Large crates, about a metre across on all sides, lined the walls of the cargo hold, leaving a small narrow passage for walking in the middle. Smaller crates were stacked on larger, heavier ones, to reduce the chances of toppling. However, from the violent, abrupt jerking of the Avatar's transport, most of the smaller crates have crashed to the ground. The only thing holding the contents of the crates from spilling out are thick strips of duct tape.<p>

Eva sat on a small crate, her chin resting on her knuckles, thinking as she stared distantly at the metallic floor beneath her feet. She shouldn't have let out her emotions like that, but why did she feel so strongly towards Nourasia? Was it because it was Aikka's home? Did she have feelings for Aikka? Shaking off those confusing thoughts, she focused on the situation they were in at the moment. Where were they really? Like what Koji pointed out, this was not Nourasia.

"Molly..."

The cargo hold became very silent, and the temperature fell by a few degrees. Eva looked around to her sides as she slowly stood up, rubbing the skin on her arms in a useless attempt to keep warm. There was nothing out of the ordinary; from the gap in the wall, she saw Koji and Stan hunched over a large holographic map, oblivious to the sudden drop in temperature and the strange voice calling out to her.

"Molly, it's me," the voice echoed around the cargo hold, "It's Jordan."

"Jordan?" she called out in surprise, her eyes still fixed on Koji and Stan who acted as if they could not hear the Avatar. Perhaps they really couldn't.

"Listen, I dropped you all off on Aerien. It's the closest planet to Nourasia, just outside Nourasia's star system. I can't bring you all any closer. The Crogs have set up a blockade around the planet. I could have teleported you guys in but it's dangerous; your atoms might have been torn apart by the sudden jump in time."

"How are we suppose to get pass this blockade?"

"A small, lone starship like yours might slip pass. It's risky but the risk is far less compared to the dangers of teleportation."

Eva had no answer. She was not sure what to say. Can their tiny starship slip pass the blockade unharmed? But they had to; there was no other way to get to Nourasia.

Jordan's voice took on a softer tone, trying to reassure Eva.

"Molly, I know you, Koji and Stan can do it. You won the Great Race of Oban, remember?"

"That was so long ago. Even with experience from participating in minor races on Earth, I really don't know..."

"I know you guys can do it. I believe you can," the voice spoke firmly, pausing for a few long seconds before speaking again, "I have to go now. Take care, Molly. Come back home safe. I'll always be watching over you."

"Jordan?" she called out, reluctant for him to go, "Jordan..."

"Jordan's not here, Molly," Koji answered, "Could you come over and take a look at the map for a second? Maybe you'll have better luck finding out where we are."

"There's no need to study the map," Eva replied in a monotone voice, her thoughts elsewhere, "We're on Aerien, a planet just outside Nourasia's star system."

Koji and Stan turned around in their seats, surprised that Eva knew their location. Knowing better than to question Eva, they simply nodded. Koji quickly returned his attention to the board of flickering lights, switches and buttons. His skilful fingers flew across the keypads and switches, keying in coordinates, glancing once at the holographic map, now placed on his right, for double checking.

Eva took a deep breath, feeling confident enough to be in the presence of her companions, she hurried back to the cockpit. She gave Stan a quick smile, one which he returned in an instant, as she sat back down in her seat behind his.

"I'm going to engage the hyperdrive," Koji announced, "It works the same way as the one on the Whizzing Arrow III except that it's a whole lot faster and runs on auto-pilot with a cloaking device.

It'll look almost like we teleported," he added, with a laugh, "Hang on to your seats, guys!"

Before he finished his sentence, Koji pressed a few buttons and pulled down a lever. The starship began to vibrate with a constant hum, as it jerked forward, throwing them back into their seats. The stars seemed to disappear, becoming faint, thin white lines that shot pass all around them. The ship switched into 'auto-pilot' immediately as it became encased in the cloaking device, bringing them across the vastness of space in a matter of minutes.

_**To be continued...**_


End file.
